Chapter 219 World Nine (Sixteen)

The emperor, dressed in a bright yellow robe emblazoned with lifelike dragons, had just returned to his bedroom from the hearing hall when a young eunuch, who happened to be serving outside the hall, approached eagerly, asking if the emperor needed anyone to sleep with him. The emperor, fuming, kicked the eunuch, then listened to his muffled cries of pain before walking in without even a glance.

Although the eunuch had been with the emperor for many years, he still held his breath, looking extremely nervous. It wasn't until the guards arrived and whispered a few words in the eunuch's ear that the eunuch's expression relaxed and he stepped forward with a bow.

"Your Majesty, Jinyiwei Commander Lu Yuan is back to request an audience."

The emperor said in a deep voice: "Call him in."

The eunuch hurriedly welcomed Lu Yuanhui in with an extremely respectful attitude, thinking that Lu Yuanhui was the only one in the court who could dispel His Majesty's anger.

Lu Yuanhui stood at the foot of the hall, unfazed by the emperor's stern gaze. He faithfully recounted the events of the capture and interrogation of the prisoner. His voice was steady and powerful, unlike the handsome, youthful demeanor of an ordinary young man, but possessed a reassuring composure.

After hearing this, the emperor's frown relaxed, and he praised him generously, "In the whole court, only Lu Qing is my loyal minister!"

Unlike those ministers who were divided into numerous factions and only relied on a few old ministers to do things and cover up everything, what was presented to him was carefully selected and deleted before he could see the peaceful scene.

Hearing this, Lu Yuanhui did not take credit for himself and his expression remained calm.

Upon seeing this, the emperor felt more and more that Lu Yuanhui and the Jinyiwei behind him were the ones who were loyal, while the others just had their own ulterior motives.

The emperor called Lu Yuan back to his side and solemnly instructed him, "There's one more thing I need you to do..."

Lu Yuanhui had to leave the capital temporarily, so he handed over the affairs of the Northern Pacification Office to Chen Zhang.

Chen Zhang handed a bundle of light clothes to Lu Yuanhui, who was sitting on his red-maned horse. A bright yellow piece of paper fell out of the bundle. Chen Zhang leaned over to pick it up, and said in surprise, "Sir, you don't believe in ghosts and gods, so why would you ask for this amulet?"

Lu Yuanhui reached out to take it, not wanting to explain to Chen Zhang.

Chen Zhang continued, "Since you are leaving the capital and passing through the Lu family, could you please bring some things for Miss Baoshan?"

Lu Yuanhui raised his eyebrows: "What is it?"

Chen Zhang sighed softly, "It's the blessing paper from the East City Temple. Miss Baoshan said this temple has the most Buddhist aura, so she wanted to ask for some blessing paper to burn for Wei Mao.

But this temple is very popular, and every time Miss Baoshan goes there, there is no blessing paper, so she begged me to bring some back for her."

Chen Zhang looked at Lu Yuanhui's expression and added, "If Your Excellency is not free, it is only natural for me to go and deliver it myself..."

Lu Yuanhui extended his hand and said, "Take it, it's just on the way."

The red-maned horse stopped in front of the Lu family's gate. Lu Yuanhui handed the reins to the doorman and walked straight towards Baoshan's yard.

But the place was empty, there was no sign of Baoshan, only the maid Zhenzhu was sitting under the woods, taking a nap with her eyes closed.

Zhenzhu hadn't fallen asleep to begin with, and she woke up hastily upon hearing the voice. Seeing that it was Lu Yuanhui, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly bowed and said, "Young Master."

Lu Yuan asked her, "Where did the treasure fan go?"

Pearl bowed her head and replied, "Miss Baoshan went to the small Buddhist temple to pray and chant sutras."

Lu Yuan turned around and left. Before he reached the small Buddhist temple, he saw the slender and fragile figure beside the lotus pond.

The sun was at its peak, its warm rays casting a shadow on Baoshan's white dress, as if adorned with tiny golden glints. A stack of blessing paper lay on the ground, but Baoshan's gaze was fixed on the one floating in the lotus pond—perhaps scattered by the wind, now soaked in the water.

The blessing paper was not far from the treasure fan, so she found a branch and gently picked up the blessing paper floating on the water, trying to get it back.

The branches growing from the top of the tree hooked onto the edge of the blessing paper.

Baoshan's soft lips, which were originally tense, showed a faint smile. Her eyes were wide open, and she didn't dare to relax even for a moment, for fear that if she used too much strength, it would tear the blessing paper in the water, and she was also worried that if she didn't use enough strength, the blessing paper would break free from the branch and float away with the current.

Bao Shan was so careful that the blessing paper was about to be pulled to the shore, but the branch broke, and the blessing paper spun in the water and slowly floated away.

In a hurry, Baoshan subconsciously stretched out his hand and fell into the pool.

The next moment, Baoshan's slender waist was gathered and she fell into a warm embrace.

The branch that the precious fan was holding in his hand fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

The sunlight shines through the gaps between the dense leaves, creating mottled light and shadows that hit Lu Yuanhui's face, flickering and making it difficult to see clearly.

The soft and boneless body was still nestled in Lu Yuanhui's arms. The soft and gentle touch was like a piece of white cloud, which made people's hearts move slightly and couldn't help but reach out to touch it.

Lu Yuan looked back at Bao Shan who was in a daze, and did not argue with her. Instead, he helped Bao Shan up.

"Can you swim?"

Lu Yuanhui asked.

Baoshan shook her head hesitantly, she was not good at swimming.

Lu Yuan looked back at the lotus pond. The floating blessing paper on the water had already been soaked by the water. He said coldly, "If that's the case, don't go near water."

Bao Shan's face turned pale at the stern warning. She explained softly, "I didn't mean to get close. It's just that the blessing paper fell into the pond and I wanted to retrieve it..."

Lu Yuanhui took the blessing paper that Chen Zhang had given him and piled it up with the other blessing paper on the ground. After looking at it, he said, "This is enough."

Baoshan lowered her eyes in response, but her drooping eyelids showed that she was in a low mood at the moment.

Fluttering eyelashes, beautiful watery eyes, and lips pursed because of being wronged.

Any man who saw her in such a delicate posture would feel sorry for her and would curse himself for speaking too harshly, which made Baoshan feel sad and uneasy.

But Lu Yuanhui just looked at Baoshan's hair that was messed up by the wind, turned around and walked towards the lotus pond.

With his agile and light body, he used the hard ground as support to soar into the air, stepping over a few lotus leaves, leaving ripples in the silent lotus pond.

When he got close to the water-soaked blessing paper, Lu Yuan leaned over to pick it up, then turned around and returned to the treasure fan.

In Lu Yuanhui's hand was a piece of blessing paper that had been soaked in the pool water and lay limply in his palm.

Lu Yuanhui had used Qinggong for many things, capturing criminals, patrolling the surroundings... but now he was using it to pick up a thin piece of blessing paper. But Lu Yuanhui clearly had no intention of showing off. He simply handed the blessing paper to the treasure fan and asked, "Do you want more?"

Bao Shan's gaze shifted from the wet blessing paper, and she raised her beautiful eyes to look at Lu Yuanhui, her watery eyes trembling slightly: "No..."

Lu Yuanhui casually threw the blessing paper into the lotus pond.

This time, the blessing paper was crumpled into a ball. It no longer floated quietly on the surface, but soon sank to the bottom of the water.

Seeing Lu Yuan return in casual clothes, unlike his usual attire, Bao Shan asked softly, "My Lord, is there anything important?"

Lu Yuanhui did not hide it: "I left the capital for some time, and I did have something to do."

Bao Shan's beautiful eyes looked at Lu Yuanhui with a hint of worry in her voice, "Is it dangerous?"

Lu Yuanhui did not deny it.

Bao Shan lowered her eyelids and remained silent. After a moment, when she raised her head again, tears trembled on her long eyelashes: "Sir... can you not go?"

Lu Yuanhui frowned slightly and was about to answer when he was hugged tightly by a warm and soft girl.

Lu Yuanhui was hugged, but the person in his arms looked worried and fearful, even their soft body was trembling slightly, which made people feel worried. In this situation, how could Lu Yuanhui open his mouth to blame?

But Lu Yuanhui felt something was wrong, so he stretched out his hand to avoid the treasure fan. However, he could only hear the mournful sound of the treasure fan in his arms, with the last note trembling slightly, which made his heart pound.

"My husband also has errands to run, but he never comes back..."

Lu Yuanhui tried to push away the treasure fan's hand, but he froze in place.

Baoshan has a gentle and soft nature and never does anything rude.

However, since Wei Mao passed away, Baoshan has been protected by Lu Yuanhui, and she regards Lu Yuanhui as her closest person.

Now that Lu Yuan was leaving Beijing for work, Bao Shan couldn't help but recall the scene of Wei Mao leaving and never coming back that day, which made her suddenly lose her composure.

But Bao Shan soon realized that she had spoken out of turn. She nestled gently against Lu Yuanhui's chest, sobbing softly, "...The mission is urgent, I definitely can't just not go. I was wrong."

Baoshan's hair was messed up by the wind, and a few strands flew onto Lu Yuanhui's neck.

Lu Yuanhui could clearly feel the slenderness and softness of the black hair. They were intertwined with each other, covering his neck and making his throat slightly itchy.

Tears soaked Lu Yuanhui's outer robe, but he didn't care about the brown water marks, because he could hear Baoshan's ignorant concern in his ears, which made Lu Yuanhui's chest rumble.

"Your Excellency is brave and will surely return safely."

"If you see danger, remember to 'keep the green mountains alive' and don't pursue it relentlessly..."

As if feeling guilty about his own cowardice, Lu Yuan turned around and became the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He had seen the flash of swords and the fight of sabers, and always faced danger head-on, never hiding away like a rat.

Besides, Lu Yuanhui's mission was definitely related to the current emperor. If he continued to hide, he would probably be laughed at by others. Baoshan's cheeks flushed, obviously knowing that these instructions were inappropriate.

But compared to what others said, she was more worried about Lu Yuanhui's safety.

The weak woman couldn't think of any clever ideas, she only knew that she didn't want Lu Yuanhui to be in danger, and she wanted Lu Yuanhui to return to safety.

Everyone has their own loves, and Lu Yuanhui might be born with a dislike for weak women. But no man would reject a foolish woman whose heart and eyes are filled with him.

Lu Yuanhui had witnessed many advances from other women, but he remained indifferent. He was like a block of dull ice, condensed by the cold winter, without a single crack that could be broken or melted. But the woman before him, with her seemingly foolish concern, moved Lu Yuanhui in a way he hadn't felt in a long time.

Lu Yuan looked back at the precious fan that was nestled against him. It was like a fragile vine clinging to him. Even though he felt extremely pitiful, he was still concerned about his safety.

Even though Baoshan was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, she was still beautiful. The red circles under her eyes and the faint red spot on her nose made her look like a small white flower that had been hit by rain and blown by the wind. She was so adorable that it was hard to bear to look at her.

Lu Yuanhui raised his drooping arms and even wanted to hug the thin and soft back to feel the warmth of Baoshan's soft body.

But Lu Yuanhui didn't move in the end, and just said stiffly: "No."

He won't die.